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Universal Health Coverage—looking to the future

Day of Universal Health Coverage

The Lancet "Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is defined by WHO and the World Bank as when “all people receive the health services they need without suffering financial hardship when paying for them”. UHC is central to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted in September, 2015, with a specified target in SDG 3—ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages.

The SDGs are interconnected but good health underlies them all. UHC has been acknowledged by the World Bank, WHO, the G7, and multiple governments as fundamental for realising the goal of sustainable development. Although some governments were unsupportive of UHC's inclusion in the SDGs (such as the UK), its inclusion created a clear objective, while also sending a strong and important political signal.

On Dec 12, 2016, the third annual International Day of Universal Health Coverage will be marked, and progress towards UHC discussed and celebrated globally. This year's theme is “health for all”, with a call to “act with ambition”. (Photo: United States Mission Geneva/flickr)

Why So Little of Something So Badly Needed?

The International Journal of Person Centered Medicine "Patient–centered care (PCC) is increasingly recognized as a key dimension of quality healthcare, but unfortunately remains poorly implemented in practice. This paper explores the current state of PCC in sub-Saharan Africa and potential barriers to its implementation, with a focus on public first line health services. We develop an analytical framework based on expert knowledge, field experience, and a conceptual literature review.

(...) The training of health workers is key in that respect. Training models remain dominated by a biomedical perspective, with little attention for psychosocial dimensions of the illness experience. The second layer of determinants relates to the structural and organizational features of the health system." (Photo: UNICEF Ethiopia/flickr)

Newlands Clinic patient addresses Medicus Mundi conference

Ruedi Lüthy Foundation "When Maximina Jokonya found out she was HIV-positive at the age of thirteen, it was as if her world had fallen apart. Today, the Newlands Clinic patient helps young people who have been similarly affected. In November, she came to Switzerland at the invitation of Medicus Mundi to talk about her experiences.

25-year-old Zimbabwean, who is herself HIV-positive, impressed the conference with her energy and openness in talking about her situation. As a teenager, she lost her father to Aids and then a few years later her mother. When she first came to Newlands Clinic in 2005 at the age of 13, she was so ill she could no longer walk.

After the conference, Maximina Jokonya also had the opportunity to visit a secondary school class in Basel. “The students know a great deal about HIV. However, even today, not everyone is properly informed. Some think you can get infected through saliva, for example.” Maximina is in her element when she’s talking with young people. Given her own story, it is extremely important for her to do something for children and adolescents with HIV, and in particular for orphans. “Thanks to the support I have received, I’ve gone from being a beneficiary to a mentor.”

Maximina Jokonya is keenly aware of the difference the right treatment and support can make: “If I hadn’t come to Newlands Clinic back then, I’d most likely not be alive now.” (Photo: Medicus Mundi Switzerland)